TikTok owner, ByteDance has unofficially announced its 2020 annual revenue, pegging it at $34.3bn. This figure represents more than 100% revenue growth. Management of the company made this revelation in a meeting with employees.
ByteDance also reported an active monthly user base of 1.9 billion across its platforms. These include TikTok, Douyin, and Toutiao.
The Main Source of ByteDance’s Revenue: TikTok
ByteDance owes much of its solid revenue performance to the wildly popular TikTok app. The short-form video platform became a “pandemic tech habit.” It was the mainstay of millions observing the “stay-at-home” protocol around the world. Topics such as “best TikTok content creators”, and “best TikTok dance videos” became trending hashtags. This popularity saw the company rake billions in ad revenue.
This achievement means ByteDance is now all set to rub shoulders with American Big Tech. It also reinforces China’s position as a tech world power. Interestingly, the announcement comes at a time when the US and the EU are looking to work together to topple the Chinese tech competition. Talks will proceed in the coming days.
Government Pressure
Meanwhile, ByteDance’s rise to prominence wasn’t without difficulty. TikTok faced a ban in the US during the Trump regime. The government pressured the company to merge with an American tech firm or shut down its regional servers.
But earlier this week, President Joe Biden revoked Trump’s TikTok ban. Therefore, ByteDance has the green light to continue its operations in the country. And TikTok is expected to generate billions in revenue this year as well. So overall, ByteDance is enjoying some really good times. But the company still faces intense scrutiny by the Chinese government. And these antitrust investigations are known to trouble the target company’s revenue. The likes of e-commerce heavyweight Alibaba and tech conglomerate Tencent are already reeling from the pressure.
Currently, Liang Rubo is at the helm of affairs at ByteDance. The co-founder took over from former chief executive Zhang Yiming, who followed in the footsteps of other tech CEOs to step down.
TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have recorded a strong performance so far. The solid revenue and large user base have earned the company a place at the top. Together with other social media platforms, it is breaking the monopoly once held by Facebook.
